Ever Always (3 page)

“I win,” she said. “I still got it.”

“Yeah, Ev,” he whispered, letting go of her neck. “You do.”

“What do I need?” she asked. “You said you knew.”

“First, you need breakfast. And then I'm going to let you lie down for a few hours and get rid of that migraine. Then, I'm taking you somewhere.”

“Don't you have to work?”

He headed for the kitchen. “I took a few days' leave. You need me right now.”

“Where are you going to take me?”

“When you wake up and that gorgeous head of yours is feeling better, you'll find out.”

E
ver had been napping for three hours when Hunter's cell phone rang.

“Hunt.” Sam's voice sounded like he'd been chewing on gravel.

“You sound awful, little bro. Come home.”

“Can't do that, Hunter,” said Sam. “You know that.”

Hunter hoped his exasperated sigh reached Sam across the distance. “You didn't think it through, man. You never do. None of this was necessary.”

“So you're saying Lincoln would have just forgiven Ever for this? For killing his best bud?”

“No—”

“Exactly.” Sam's voice was heated now, his irritation with Hunter showing. “He wouldn't. And you know what, Hunter? Ever doesn't need the hassle. What's done is done, and she did the right thing. She didn't have a choice. She shouldn't have to suffer for it.”

“Why don't you just tell me what's really going on here, Sam?” said Hunter, his voice low and even. The last thing he wanted to do was wake Ever. She needed the sleep.

“What are you talking about?”

“You know what I'm talking about. Did you or did you not want to get the hell out of Duck Creek? This was just your way of doing it.”

Silence across the line.

“Sam?”

“I'm doing this for Ever.”

“Hunter?” Ever's sleepy voice came from across the room. She always sounded sweetest when she was either falling asleep or just waking up. That strange, aching stretch in his chest panged him once more. He rubbed at the spot absently. “Is that Sam?”

The lift in her voice as she asked the question squeezed Hunter painfully. He nodded, handing her the phone.

“Sam?” she breathed into the speaker. “Where are you?” She listened for a moment. “How much farther are you going to ride?” She nodded slowly. “I see. What's our plan here?”

She closed her eyes briefly as she listened to whatever answer his brother had to offer, and when she opened them again her expression had hardened. “Okay, Sam. I love you. I hope we can end all of this soon. No, I know I can't call you. You had to ditch your phone. Yes, I understand. Bye.”

She tossed the phone onto the couch next to Hunter and turned her back. His eyes followed her as she went to the kitchen and got a glass of water.

“You want to tell me what he said?” he finally asked her. She was staring out the window over the kitchen sink, her back facing him.

“He's traveling down the coast, I guess. Doesn't know where he'll end up. He's sticking to back roads. Ditched his phone. He doesn't want to call every day, in case they're checking our phone lines. It all makes sense.”

Her voice broke on the last word. Hunter stood, immediately drawn to his feet, but she tossed up a hand and strode into her bedroom. The soft click of the door as it closed behind her pierced just the same as if she'd driven a spear into his gut.

Hunter wasn't going to let her cry in her room alone.

Dammit, he
wasn't
.

He opened her bedroom door before he even realized he had crossed the tiny living room. Ever was curled up on the floor beneath her open window. Her body shook with her silent sobs.

Never in his life had Hunter felt like a whole person. Never in his twenty-three years had he felt like he had enough of his own heart intact to offer a piece of it to someone else.

But when he looked at Ever, so broken and battered, not physically this time but emotionally, crying in the corner like a lost little girl, something deep inside him snapped into place like the last piece of a puzzle. He was across the room in one step.

“Ev,” he whispered. “Don't cry. No, you know what? Fuck that. Cry, baby girl. Cry as hard and for as long as you need to. I'm here. I've always been here, and I'm not going anywhere.”

It was like she'd been trying her damnedest to hold in a rising tide of emotion, and the dam had finally broken. When Hunter opened his arms to her, she collapsed into them. She took a deep, shuddering breath, and the tears continued to flow.

“That's it, sweetheart,” murmured Hunter. “I got you. I got you. I got you.”

He repeated the phrase over and over again because he wanted to tattoo it onto her skin. He didn't want her to ever forget it.

It was hours. It was minutes. It was seconds. It was days.

Ever didn't know how long she cried into Hunter's shoulder. But when she was finished, she was empty.

She was empty in more ways than one.

She sat up, wiped her face dry with the back of her hand, and leaned back against the wall beneath the window.

“My heart was hurting so bad,” she whispered without meeting Hunter's intense gaze. “When I feel that way, I always head for the window. But when I got here, I realized I didn't have anywhere to go.”

She looked at him, and the pain was so evident in his hazel eyes she wondered why she hadn't noticed it there before. Had his eyes always looked like that? He could've had any girl he wanted in a heartbeat, yet he was always kind of a loner. Not like Sam, who played on the football team and had so many friends in school. It seemed like Hunter didn't want any of it. He went about his business and kept to himself.

But the way he was looking at her now, he was completely raw.

“Hunter?” she asked, uncertain.

He blinked, and when he refocused his gaze on her it was back to normal. Not so intense, a little bit of playful sparkle. “Yeah?”

“Nothing.” She suddenly wasn't sure if she'd ever even seen it.

“You do have somewhere to go.” His voice was firm. “You have me, Ever. I'm going to be here for you. As long as you need me. I'm right here.”

She nodded slowly. “Thanks, Hunt. I'm just not used to…you know.”

He sighed. “To the shoulder you've soaked not being Sam's? Yeah, I know.” He pointed to his sleeve. “I got two of these. On every shirt. You want to soak one, be my guest. In fact, soak all my shirts. I like them better that way. I can cut down on laundry.”

She smiled. “Can we…can we get out of here?”

“Wait a minute, Ever. I was about to ask you that! Hey, Ev, you wanna get out of here?”

She laughed. “Let me get cleaned up.”

Hunter laughed, too, rubbing the scruff on his chin. “Naw, girl. You don't need to clean up for where we're going.”

He was right. Half an hour later they were trudging through the squelching black mud of the creek bank. This time of year, when spring whispered to them from mere days away, the creek was full and alive. The early evening gave way to twilight, bullfrogs croaking from their hideaway within the willows of the lush landscape.

“I can't believe we're doing this,” said Ever. Her lips curled into a wobbly smile and she realized she'd forgotten how the muscles worked. They felt rusty.

But Hunter flashed a quick grin right back. “You remember?”

“Of course I remember! There wasn't a single summer we weren't glued to this creek as kids. Wading, fishing, skimming those little smooth pebbles. I can't believe
you
remember, Hunter. It's been a while since the three of us did anything like this.”

“It's been a while since the three of us did anything at all.” Hunter baited his line and cast it out into the rippling water.

Stars were beginning to dot the sky. Ever stared up at them, unable to remember the last time she'd just been outside at night and had a chance to gaze at the wide-open sky.

They'd begun fishing the creek when they were nine years old. All three of them wanted an escape, a place to go where it would be just them minus all the noise of the world. So they'd scored three old fishing poles when they'd cleaned out a supply closet for the owner of the bait and tackle. A common bond was born that very day, when they had traipsed down to the creek with their brand new-to-them poles in order to hunt for bait.

Silence stretched between them as they stood on the bank, a comfortable one that enveloped Ever like a warm, soft blanket. The old habit of baiting, casting, and reeling coated her soul.

“God, I love this spot.” Her quiet tone barely broke through the rippling water and the bullfrogs' happy chant. “Oh! This is a big one!” The sudden tautness of her line sent a little shiver of excitement through her body.

“Attagirl!” Hunter stepped up beside her.

“Oooo,” groaned Ever as she struggled to reel in her line.

Hunter stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He took hold of her hands, cradling them in his as he tightened his grip in order to help her pull in her catch.

“Here we go,” he said, his voice close to her ear. The deep tone made her shiver. Or the breeze made her shiver. She wasn't sure which. She sucked in a breath, and Hunter's scent overwhelmed her senses.

He was the perfect mixture of masculinity and sweetness, a spicy natural fragrance that was just Hunter. She breathed in deeply, taking him in. She closed her eyes to savor him for just a second.

With Hunter's steady hands to help, she pulled in her catch, peeking at it over the bank before reaching down to gently wiggle the hook free.

“There you go, big guy,” she said as she tossed the fat fish back into the creek. “Off you go.”

Hunter's low rumble of a laugh was still so close to her, she jumped. He was squatting down next to her on the bank, staring at the water, his elbows resting on his knees and his palms clasped together.

“You always talked to the fish back then, too,” he said softly. “I used to think you were a little crazy…and very adorable.”

“Why, Hunter Waters,” Ever said with mock surprise, “are you sayin' you thought I was cute all those years ago?”

He turned his head, meeting her gaze. The light of a nearly full moon up above reflected back at her in his eyes. He stood and held out his hand.

“I'd better get you back home.”

She nodded, taking his warm, big hand in hers. “Good idea.”

They began the short walk through the woods, and Ever stopped Hunter with a hand to his chest just before they exited the cover of the trees.

“Thank you,” she said. “You don't know how much I needed this, Hunter.”

He glanced down at her hand pressed flush against his chest, his body motionless. He raised his eyes back up to hers, opening his mouth to speak. Ever watched him fight some internal battle with himself as he closed it again. The emotion warring on his face was fascinating.

She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, trying to distract herself from the feelings being in the woods with Hunter was stirring inside of her.

Finally, he spoke, his words measured and soft. He placed his big hand over hers on his chest. A flare of electricity traveled from his hand to hers, and her eyes widened as she gazed up at him. “You don't need to thank me. And I do know, Ev. You'd be surprised at how well I know you.”

Her eyes continued to pierce him with a sad stare. “No one knows me the way Sam does, Hunt.”

She walked quickly away before the broken hurt on his face could reach her heart.

F
unerals.

Hunter had only been to one other funeral in his life, after the passing of an old great-uncle on his mother's side he'd barely known. This was very different.

The logistics were still the same: the black wardrobe, the abundance of flowers, the somber faces. The entire town turned out for the funeral of Ever's father.

Like he had been a good man who deserved their respect.

Hunter would laugh if Ever's pain weren't evident in every stiff movement she made as she thanked the guests for coming, and for the casserole dishes and pies they left at her home afterward.

He was well aware that her ache didn't solely come from watching her dead father being lowered into the ground. She also hadn't heard from Sam in four days. She and Hunter had no idea whether he'd stopped running, or whether he was all right.

The last guest happened to be Lacey, Ever's boss at the bakery. Lacey fussed over Ever a little before she left, clucking about how she needed to eat something, as she was becoming “thin as a reed.” Ever thanked Lacey and told her she'd see her at work Monday morning.

When she closed the door and leaned against it, blowing out a breath that lifted the auburn strands of hair falling in her delicate face, Hunter inclined his head to the side.

“You're headed back to the bakery on Monday?” he asked with a frown. “You sure you're ready?”

“No, I'm not sure,” she said. “But baking is the only thing I'm good at. I need to get back to some kind of normalcy here. Plus, I just inherited this house and it's not paid for yet.”

“Baking's not the only thing you're good at.”

“Yeah? What else?”

Hunter smirked. “Fishing.”

The corner of her mouth turned up in a half-smile. “That won't pay the electricity bill.”

The strings around his heart pulled a little tighter. Every cell in his body strained to help her beyond just being a shoulder for her to cry on when she needed it. But he knew her well enough to know that if he offered her financial help, she'd definitely kick him out on his ass.

“All right then,” he said grudgingly. “Back to work it is. I hope it's good for you.”

“It will be,” she sighed. “You know I love Lacey. She's been like a mom to me. And she needs me. It feels good to be needed, Hunt.”

He nodded slowly.

“Plus, me being back at the bakery means I can stop hogging all your time. You don't need to babysit me anymore. I don't care what Sam says.”

Her voice broke when she said his brother's name. Hunter cursed under his breath and patted the couch cushion beside him.

Ever walked to him and sank down, automatically leaning her head on his shoulder.

“I'm not Sam's hired help, Ev,” he murmured into her hair. He inhaled involuntarily, and the scent of wildflowers filled his senses. “I'm here because I want to be. I think I've said that already, but I'll keep right on saying it until you believe me.”

She sat up, and her green eyes were glossy as they stared up into his. “It's not that I don't believe you.”

She hesitated, and he leaned forward. He didn't want to miss a breath of what she had to say.

“Then why do I have to keep saying it?”

“Because…I don't understand
why.
”

Her voice was nearly a whisper. She averted her eyes almost immediately. An embarrassed flush was working its way around the back of her neck toward her face. “Why are you taking the time to keep me company? To make me feel better? It's not just because I'm your little brother's girlfriend?”

To find the answer to that question, Hunter would have to look deep inside himself, into a secret, hidden place that he wasn't yet ready to unlock. Something closer to the surface was already starting to tighten uncomfortably in reaction to her closeness and her smell.

He shook his head. “You aren't just my little brother's girlfriend, Ever. You're just as big a part of my life as you are of his. Always have been.”

His limbs went still when her eyes once more met his. The disbelief in them drew his breath from his lungs. She really didn't know that he cared for her outside of her belonging to Sam? That he remembered every single second they spent together as best friends, as children, before she and his brother became the everlasting couple of Duck Creek?

She clearly didn't. All she had ever been able to see was Sam.

Before he could stop and think, he stood. His movement was abrupt, and Ever's striking green eyes went wide.

“Hunter? What's wrong?”

“You don't believe me,” he snapped. “All I've been doing, day and night here, is showing you that right now, at this point in my life, you come first. Why is that so hard for you to believe? Don't you believe it when Sam shows it?”

She shook her head. “That's different. Sam has been there for me my whole life.”

“I've been here, too, Ev.” He strode toward the door.

“Please—don't leave, Hunter. Not like this.”

“Don't worry about me, Ev. You never have before, right?”

He strode to the door and flung it wide. The wood slammed behind him with a satisfying bang as he stormed out.

He strode to his truck and wrenched the door open. He started the ignition and pulled away, chest heaving. She had no clue that he had always been looking out for her, just as much as his brother had. She had no idea that he cared about her
at all
, past what he'd feel for his little brother's girlfriend. His fingers gripped the steering wheel and he stared out at the road, his mind swirling with thoughts and emotions he'd never acknowledged before this moment. Emotions that ripped a burning hole in the center of his chest. Ever belonged to
Sam.
And regardless of how Hunter felt about her, she was something bright and amazing in his brother's life.

He was sitting in front of his own house before he realized what he'd done.

He'd left her.

It was something he swore to her he wouldn't do, and out of anger and frustration it was exactly what he did.

“Fuck,” he muttered, starting the truck up again.

He drove back to her driveway and ran to her front door, taking the steps two at a time.

Knocking softly, he opened the door and allowed it to creak as he shut it behind him.

Ever stopped midstride. She wore nothing but a towel wrapped just above her breasts. Her long legs were bare, and beads of water clung to her chest and shoulders. Hunter sucked in a deep breath, unable to speak. She was breathtaking. His first, immediate reaction was the telltale bulge in his pants.

Then her eyes narrowed and she glared at him, reminding him that she was angry and hurt.

“God, sweetheart,” he said, anguish leaking from his voice. “I'm so sorry. I won't leave you.”

Without a word, she turned and walked into her bedroom and shut the door.

Ever threw herself across the bed. The overwhelming feeling of defeat was beginning to swallow her whole. There was too much to do. Too much she was trying not to feel. Worry about her future. Fear for Sam. And then there was Hunter…

She was leaning on Hunter in ways she should be leaning on Sam. Guilt began to nibble a hole in her stomach, slowly eating away at her. Should she be feeling so…so
happy
when Hunter was around? Doubt swelled, making her frown. Maybe she shouldn't be spending as much time with Hunter as she was.

Knock, knock.

He didn't even wait for her to respond before he opened her door and crossed the room to sit next to her on the bed.

She held in a gasp as his strong fingers brushed the sensitive skin on the back of her bare knee. Heat built and exploded in her gut from his touch, and she clutched the pillow tighter.

“Hunter…I just want to be alone right now.” She kept her face turned toward her pillow.

He stayed silent where he sat, but she could feel his hesitation.

“Just go,” she pleaded.

The silence in the room grew heavier for just a second. Then she heard him sigh.

“I'll be back tomorrow, Ev. First thing. And I'm sorry for leaving you.”

His dress shoes echoed through the house as he walked to the front door, opened it, and closed it softly behind him. Ever cringed as though he'd slammed it.

A few seconds later her phone, sitting atop her nightstand, rang.

She sat up, wondering who would be calling her. Hunter had just walked out the door, and everyone in the entire town had just left her father's funeral.

Sam!

Reaching over to the phone and picking it up with urgency, her voice was breathless as she answered. “Hello.”

“Ever.”

His voice sounded so far away she was on the verge of breaking down again. “Sam? Where are you?”

“I'm in South Carolina, baby. On a little island across the bridge from Charleston. It's beautiful here. I'm working on a ranch for now. The owner gave me a temporary job without too many questions, thank God. How are you?”

It was beautiful where he was? Really? Hot anger shot through her body, but she couldn't pinpoint a reason for it. Sam hadn't done anything wrong. In fact, everything he was doing, he was doing for her. Right?

“Today was the funeral, Sam.”

The connection crackled slightly. Sam groaned. “Oh,
Ever.
I didn't know. I'm so sorry, sweetheart.”

She nodded numbly, even though she knew he couldn't see her. He couldn't see her, couldn't touch her. Couldn't comfort her. For the first time in their entire relationship, he couldn't be there for her right now. At least not in the way she needed him to be.

“Yeah, it was rough. Mostly just all those people paying him respect, like he was some great pillar of the community. Like he didn't beat his daughter daily. Duck Creek is a small town. They knew—well, most of them. They just looked the other way.”

“Yeah, they did,” said Sam with bitterness in his voice. “That's why I want to get you out of there, Ever. Start over somewhere else. This place is really nice. The beach, the sun. It's still kind of small, so you don't feel lost, but it's just…brighter, somehow. I can breathe here.”

He could have poured ice water into her chest. “You couldn't breathe here?”

“No, of course not. You know what Duck Creek is like. There's…hope here or something. I don't know. You're going to love it.”

“I love it in Duck Creek,” she said quietly. “Now that Daddy's gone.”

Sam acted as though she hadn't spoken. Maybe he hadn't heard her. “I'm picturing a whole new future here for us, Ever. We could settle down in a little house by the water, just the two of us. I have a job, and you could find work, too, or go to school. We just have to wait until things die down with the investigation. Are they still asking you tons of questions about me and what happened?”

Sam had always been a dreamer. He had plans for them, all right. But she'd never really thought of leaving Duck Creek. It was her home. She loved the bakery. She loved the quiet beauty that came with sitting at the foot of the mountains. She'd never been to the beach and had never felt a yearning to go.

All of this desire of Sam's to live somewhere else felt brand new to her. He'd never discussed wanting to run. Only wanting to protect her from her father. Maybe they hadn't been paying attention to each other, to the other's true wants and needs.

She sighed. “The investigation is still going on. But they haven't asked me anything in a few days. They still think I'm the one protecting you.”

“In a couple of weeks, you can come visit, maybe.”

“What about Hunter?”

“What about him?” asked Sam.

“Well, don't you want to see him, too?” Suddenly feeling stubborn, she set her mouth in a firm line. She wasn't going all the way to South Carolina to some beach without Hunter to keep her company.

“We'll talk about it when the time gets closer, okay? I've got to go, Ever. I have to get back to work.”

His voice sounded…different. Like he had changed in the short time he'd been away.

“Okay, Sam. Call me back tomorrow.”

“I'll see if I can. Love you.”

“Love you.”

She tossed the phone back onto the nightstand and eyed it like it might explode if she picked it up again. Something wasn't right.

She'd never felt that way with Sam. Everything was always exactly right. Now all of a sudden it wasn't.

Her damn father was still ruining everything. Even in death.

She wandered out into the kitchen, pulling open cabinets and piling ingredients onto the counter: sugar, flour, baking powder, cocoa, butter.

At times like this, there was only one way Ever knew to make everything okay again.

She was going to bake cupcakes.